Although car insurance can be very expensive, with a small bit of work you can significantly lower your insurance rates by 15% or more. However, not all people will secure the lowest rates with the same company. Here are some ways to lower your auto insurance rates in your particular situation.
How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Get Quotes
The first step when you are looking for cheaper car insurance is to get lots of quotes. Even if your friend down the street with a similar car found the best rates at company A, there are a number of things in your life that may make the rate lower for you at a different company. The only procedure to know is to get quotes, making sure that you are comparing consistent coverage plans (same numbers for liability coverage, comprehensive and collision, deductibles, and same add-ons).
How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Ask for Discounts
Once you have found the best few insurance companies, call them and talk about what discounts you might be eligible for. Some examples of discounts are a good student discount, low mileage discount, defensive driver course discount, and a prepay discount. All of these will lower your premiums, and some companies offer bigger discounts than others.
How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Pay Higher Deductibles
Your insurance rates will be a lot cheaper if you opt for higher deductibles. Although you will be paying a few hundred dollars more if you need to make any repairs, your annual premiums are likely to be at least a few hundred dollars less, meaning that if you don’t make any claims, you get to keep all that money!
How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Pay Attention to Life Changes
If you have just gone through a major life change, such as moving, buying a new vehicle, getting married, or adding a teen driver to your policy, these are times when you should consider going through the two above steps again. All of these changes will have an impact on your auto insurance policy, and not all companies handle them the same scheme, meaning that another company that used to be more expensive could be cheaper now.
For example, when my husband and I got married, we got quotes for a opinion together on his current insurance carrier and my unique insurance carrier, both of which were the cheapest we could find for us as individuals. We also got quotes from other insurance providers, and we found that the cheapest was an entirely new one, so we went with that instead.
Filed under Compare Car Insurance by on Feb 25th, 2011. Comment. 
Every year, car companies constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver. These five 2010 cars are at the top of the list for being the safest on the road.
The Volvo XC60
The Volvo XC60, new to Volvo in 2010, has many safety features that don’t even compare to their other cars. The car is equipped with new preventive safety, protective safety, and child safety features. Some of these features include an anti locking brake system with hydraulic brake assist, ready alert brakes, collision warning with auto brake, and city safety. The car is well lit with daytime running lights, dual xenon gas discharge headlights with active bending lights, side marker lights, rear fog lights with auto off and front fog lights. In case of a crash, the car comes with a whiplash protection system, an energy absorbing interior, dual stage airbags, a side impact protection system, and an energy absorbing frontal structure.
The 2010 Volkswagen Polo
This car is not only one of the safest of 2010, but one of the safest cars world wide. The airbags in the car include the combined head-thorax airbag. The seat belts come with belt force limiters and seat belt tensioners that that prevent whiplash and therefore injury. For children, there is a three rear head restraint and isofix child seat.
The 2010 Saturn Astra
The 2010 Saturn Astra is the safest car under $25,000 for 2010. The safety features include curtain side airbags, GM onStar assistance, 4-wheel antilock disc brakes, and an anti-skid system and traction control.
The Hyndai Genesis 2010
The Hyndai Genesis 2010 got excellent reviews on safety. Safety features include rear side airbags, front side airbags, curtain side airbags, an anti skid system, traction control, and ABS. For percentages in safety ratings for the Hyndai Genesis 2010 rated by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, visit www.consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com and search for the 2010 Hyndai Genesis.
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid has reached a score of 9.9 in the U.S. on it’s safety rating. A 0.1 score away from a perfect collect of 10 is hard to beat. The car comes with standard front, front-side, and full-length curtain airbags. The car also comes equipped with a backup camera for a better range of view, and a blind-spot warning system. The car as also received a 5 star award from the federal government for driver protection in side-impact crashes, and for protecting passengers it was awarded four stars.
Filed under Compare Car Insurance by on Feb 20th, 2011. Comment.
If you work from home as opposed to driving to an office every day, you might be over-paying on your car insurance. A simple change on your policy, provided you can document a few things to your insurance agent, could add up to a considerable annual savings. I just made the change and if you work from home, you can, too.
You Want Me to Pay How Much for Car Insurance?
I recently moved and when I informed my agent of my unusual address, he was more than cheerful to stutter me that my premium was about to go up by $19 per month, or a whopping $228 per year. Apparently some zip codes are more risky to drive in than others, and I had moved from Mayberry right into Risk City Central.
What was ironic about the increase was that the same circumstances that led me to move in the first place also led me to initiate exclusively working at home; meaning, my car is parked in the garage and only moves about once a week when I run household errands.
I took quite a bit of personal offense at the rate increase. You want me to pay more money to drive fewer miles?
A Marvelous Look at the Details of My Car Insurance Policy
How many of us actually read those things, anyway? And how many us read them with someone else’s car insurance policy right in front of us, so we can compare line by line our coverage, deductible and premium amounts?
Try it. It’s eye-opening.
I borrowed the policy declaration of someone who is insured by the same company that insures me, and who is the same age as me, and who lives in the same zip code I now do. I noticed several places where I was insured for quite a bit more than him, and therefore paying quite a bit more. I also pointed out to him a few discounts I get that he doesn’t — and should. He’ll be calling his agent soon.
Changing my policy to coverage limits similar to my friend’s, to my disappointment, though, didn’t turn out to establish me as powerful as I’d hoped. When I consulted my insurance agent, for example, about lowering my liability bodily insurance coverage to $100,000 per person when it had been twice that, the change was only going to save me $1.20 a month.
And then something caught my eye — something on my policy that was glaringly atrocious. Worse, it had been obnoxious for the entire 10 years I, the original owner, have had my car.
How Working at Home Saves Me $151 a Year on Car Insurance
My car is a 2000 model and only has about 53,000 miles on it.
If you do the quick math, you’ll see that I’ve driven an average of 5,300 miles a year. I’ve been able to drive so little because for five of the past 10 years, I’ve worked based at home. I’m currently freelance writing, and prior to this gig I worked in rental property management, living on-site where more than half the units I managed were located. “Going to work,” most days, amounted to going down the hall or up the stairs. When I did work outside of the home, my workplace was only about six blocks from my apartment.
Yet my policy had always said, “This vehicle is driven more than 7,500 miles per year.” The statement hides in plain sight, innocently hanging out at the bottom of one of my policy pages.
I had noticed the statement before and thought little of it. But now, with such a huge premium increase on the table, it was time to address the matter. I e-mailed my agent about the error and asked if making a correction could save money on my premium.
Indeed it could. According to CNN Money, if you drive less than 7,500 miles a year, you may qualify for a five percent discount on your car insurance. Drive fewer than 5,000 and your discount could be as considerable as 10 percent.
My agent emailed me with dollar amounts. If I could prove through service records with documented mileage that I was driving as runt as I’d claimed, my new premium would go down by $151.02 per year.
Fortunately, as evidenced by my overstuffed file cabinet, I am a documentation keeper. I do, in fact, happen to have service records going back several years.
I was able to turn a $19 a month increase into only a $2 a month increase. And of the $17 I trimmed off my monthly premium, $12.59 came from proving to my agent that working at home allows me to drive much less than the average person.
Source: Gerri Willis, “5 Tips: Cut Your Car Insurance Costs,” CNN Money
Filed under Compare Car Insurance by on Jan 21st, 2011. Comment.
When you’re shopping for the most beneficial automobile insurance rates, you want to make certain that the insurance corporation knows some key details about the driver, such as gender, where they work and regardless of whether they are a student Student drivers are eligible for particular varieties of discounts on automobile insurance, and female students may well be eligible for extra discounts than their male counterparts.
Here are some ideas for discovering the cheapest vehicle insurance for a female student:1 Compile the student’s personal info Produce a folder with the female student’s transcripts that list GPA, driving record (if any) and data about her workplace location All of this data will be needed to procedure the insurance application, and supplying this info to the insurance business up front might support to get a lower rate.2 Ask about discounts A number of insurance businesses supply a excellent driver discount, excellent student discount and a multi-line discount if your family insures other vehicles under the exact same policy Locate out if the female student qualifies for these discounts, and take into account obtaining automobile insurance for all the vehicles you own from the exact same insurance provider for even much more savings.three Shop around Don’t be afraid to request a quote from multiple insurance providers Turn to at least 3 to five diverse insurance businesses to obtain the cheapest automobile insurance quotes for female students Letting the insurance corporations know you are shopping around may possibly also aid you get a cheaper insurance rate.4 Uncover out if the student has completed a driving program If the female student has completed a driving program, she might be eligible for cheaper vehicle insurance rates since she has proven that she is a great driver Make certain that the insurance organizations are conscious of the student’s driving record and the completion of any driving programs, so that they can supply only the very best rates.5 Give some thought to the kind of vehicle she will be driving. If you are responsible for buying the female student’s vehicle, compare the insurance costs for various makes and models so that you can make the most informed choice Particular vehicles, such as sports cars and high-end vehicles, do command higher-than-average insurance rates Buy a vehicle that has a high safety rating, is fuel-efficient and has very good security features so that your female student will qualify for lower vehicle insurance rates.Discovering the cheapest automobile insurance rates for a female student can be challenging, but there are quite a few things you can do to make sure you get the lowest achievable insurance quotes Use these ideas to discover the cheapest vehicle insurance for a female student in the family.Sources:Ideas for Acquiring Inexpensive Vehicle Insurance, The Pass.Low-cost Automobile Insurance for College Students Is At Your Fingertips! CheaperCarInsurance.com.
10 Actions to Purchasing Auto Insurance, Edmunds.com.
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Filed under Compare Car Insurance by on Dec 20th, 2010. Comment.
Some form of car insurance is mandatory by law throughout the United States. However, the amount of insurance needed can vary from situation to place. One of the first things you should do is visit your state’s DMV website and read about what insurance coverage is required. When you look into this, you may also want to consume a peek at your state’s accident laws. Are they a Tort status? Tort states regulate that someone must be at fault in an accident and responsible for damages. This can make a big dissimilarity in how you determine your insurance.
Why? Because if you are in a Tort state and your state requires a very low liability car insurance plan, you can be held responsible personally for whatever damages your insurance does not cover should you be at fault in an accident. This could be quite costly and is easily avoided by talking to your insurance representatives ahead of time and purchasing a bit more than legal requirements but giving yourself a very necessary cushion should the worst happen to you when you least expect it.
The first step in finding cheap car insurance and saving yourself money is to utilize an online comparison region that will gather information from you about your vehicle and your driving record. They will send this information out within their network and you should receive approximately half a dozen quotes from a respectable comparison site. They are however, giving these companies your information to gather your quote as accurately as possible and you may be contacted personally by those companies with more information. Be as accurate as possible when you apply for your quote. Lying might get you a cheaper quote but that will be only a temporary measure. Once you agree or trace a contract with a company they can pull your driving record up and examine this information and it could cause what was at first a cheap car insurance solution to become impossible for you to pay for. If you have already agreed to a policy with this company, you can be dropped which will make your rates go even higher and if it happens too much can cause you to have to take out a high risk insurance notion with an expensive policy.
The next step to take if you are trying to set yourself money on car insurance is to be careful with your driving record. Avoid common mistakes like speeding or not wearing a seatbelt. In some states, a seatbelt violation does go on your record. The more citations and marks you get on your record, the higher your insurance policies go. Save yourself money by using caution and driving safely!
Another way to save money on car insurance is to be a repeat customer with your insurance company. Companies love people that will give them money for more than one service, so worthy so, that in the insurance business you might even save yourself money for it! When you question about your car insurance, ask about home insurance, renter insurance, life insurance, or whatever else you currently own or need to look for. Asking about this can save you mammoth bucks if you lift out multiple plans!
Are you adding a teenager to your car insurance? Save money with teenagers on your car insurance by making sure your teenage driver is not only a obliging driver but has taken driver’s Education courses if available. Also impress upon them the importance of their grades. Honor roll students often qualify for car insurance discounts. This can make a huge difference in the policy when adding a teenage driver.
If you are buying a new vehicle, be sure to send out the inquiry about the car insurance before the purchase is finalized if money is a big factor to you. Keep in mind if you are making payments on a vehicle, often times you must take out full coverage insurance policies. These are big dollar items! So ask questions first and avoid surprises later. Know what cars are affordable for you in terms of maintaining your insurance.
One of the biggest ways to effect on your car insurance is to make your payments on time. This ensures your policy does not lapse or get dropped. It also keeps the insurance company from having to tack on leisurely fees and other charges for missed payments. You can save a lot of pennies by being on time with your payments.
Last but not least, do not drive without car insurance. It is illegal in most states and will catch you a big ticket, or possible suspension and jail time, and cost you a lot of points on that driving record. Being uninsured may seem like the cheapest insurance plan available, in reality it is the one that is the most expensive. Without insurance you stand to lose a lot! So preserve that car insurance active and keep proof of that insurance in your vehicle at all times! If you aren’t driving the vehicle, check your state laws. In some cases you are unruffled required to hold the insurance on it in order to transfer the title if you are selling it. And if you let insurance lapse for a few months on a car you are fixing, it can be quite costly to pay fines and fees when it is road ready again.
Filed under Compare Car Insurance by on Dec 18th, 2010. Comment.
